The playful brain : the surprising science of how puzzles improve your mind

Restak, Richard M. 1942- (Author). Kim, Scott. (Added Author).

Summary: Reveals how solving puzzles improves one's brain function - memory, perception and cognition, giving readers the chance to work puzzles while learning how to boost their brain.

Record details

ISBN: 9781594487774
ISBN: 1594487774
Physical Description: print
294 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Publisher: New York : Riverhead Books, 2010.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-288) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Working memory: brain juggling -- Long-term memory: imagining the future by remembering the past -- Perceptual skill learning: the sommelier and the hockey player -- Visual thinking: seeing, not just looking -- Spatial thinking: the challenge of mental rotation -- Listening: the foley artist and the cocktail party -- Motor skill learning: of mental maps and pickpockets -- Time: clock time vs. brain time -- Thinking in words: the hammer, the saw, and the hatchet -- Logic: reasoning in uncertain situations -- Emotions and thinking: the anger superiority effect -- Mathematics: doing the numbers at the checkout line -- Illusions: shadows, balls, and rotating snakes -- Creativity: the magic matches of Carlo Reverberi.